Rebirth
by the-lionness
Summary: A hundred years after the near downfall of Moon Kingdom, the last of the royal family is reborn in a young teenage girl. AU
1. I

**The Rebirth**

A hundred years after the near downfall of Moon Kingdom, the last of the royal family is reborn in a young teenage girl. AU

disclaimer: As cool as it would be, I don't own Sailor Moon. I barely own my Macbook.

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><p><span>Glossary<span>

Azurite: A secondary copper mineral frequently found in the oxidized zones of Cu-bearing ore deposits. Azurite is typically found as tabular to prismatic crystals of a deep "azure blue" color. There are over 45 well-known forms, and over 100 forms have been described.

Mare Serenitatis: "The Sea of Serenity;" where the Moon Kingdom is located during Silver Millennium.

_(Source: mindat; Sailor Moon Wikia)_

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><p>I<p>

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><p>Princess Serenity knew in her heart she was the only one left.<p>

There was chaos and destruction around her. The smoke from fires and burning embers rose and blocked the infinite, yet comforting darkness of the once peaceful, sparkling sky. Even the blue-marbled Earth that hung above the palace like an azurite gemstone was blocked from her gaze. She could smell what she knew was death in the wind; she could hear the echoes of screams from her fallen citizens.

She looked up at the tumultuous sky once more and shivered, as if she felt a dark presence in the air itself and its hungry desire to smother her.

She listened to the strong voice in her head, a voice that was hers but much more mature than how she felt. _Wipe your eyes_, that voice said, _and run. Run and hide._

She did that, ran through the remains of the castle, footsteps quick and careful. She knew the Moon Palace like the back of her hand, had always wandered around its splendor as a child, but now, the ornate chandeliers had fallen, and the crystals that caught the light had shattered; statues and busts and vases were broken; and pieces of the crumbling walls fell and made her start with fright. Her journey carried her into the grand ballroom, the epicenter of the palace's destruction from their enemy, and she edged around its walls, fistfuls of her dirty white dress in her hands and fearful of those unseen eyes she felt around her. Her eyes fought against staring at the tumultuous sky through the hole in the ceiling. It had only been a few hours since that attack, but it felt like a million eternities. Throughout the journey, she kept her glance focused forward and high; she couldn't bear seeing the strewn bodies around her—the noblemen, the handmaidens, the advisors and guardsmen…children. The bodies of the people who she loved strewn about the castle's now dirty marble floor like broken dolls… Several times, she felt sticky liquid underfoot, and she would fight the chills down her spine and urge to vomit.

The silence, the fear of being watched reminded her of seeing her senshi as they had died protecting her. Mercury. Mars. Venus. Even Jupiter whom she had always felt was particularly invincible...

And _he_ had died protecting her. The only man she had ever loved, whose dried crimson-tinged blood was smeared on her hands and clothes. ...The blood he shed as he died in her arms… "Endymion." Tears fell from her eyes and she bit back a sob as she thought about his body left there without her.

She heard a sound far away. The palace doors being forced opened. And then she heard the shouts of men yelling.

They knew she was here.

She ran harder down a hallway she had ventured into but once when she was eight or nine, one that led to a pair of heavy doors carved with sure and steady hands that hid its doorknobs and painted to match the palace walls. It was a secret door that had piqued her curiosity since the day she had first taken to noticing it was there and constantly questioned her caretakers' orders not to get close to it_._ Her hands pressed against where she believed where the doorknobs were. Knowing the room always being sealed tight made her panic at the thought of being cornered and caught, but they oddly gave in to her frenzied touch without a fight. It was as if they understood her plight, and now deemed it necessary to open themselves to her.

She stepped inside and whipped her head around to watch the doors shut on their own.

She was in The Holy Sanatorium of the Mare Serenitatis.

The scared ground of the Moon Kingdom, even now, unchanged and protected from the destruction of the rest of the palace.

_"This is an important room, the sacred ground of the Moon Kingdom blessed by our ancestors." Her mother had told her._

Even now, Princess Serenity could remember her mother. Tall, with silver hair and eyes, and ever graceful. Full of wisdom, strength, and love. Her mother had been comfortable in the room that was slightly smaller than Serenity's own bedroom. And yet, despite her mother's power, the Moon Queen's own presence had seemed dwarfed. The space seemed to be filled with something the princess hadn't been able to articulate as a child. A power that held traces in the very air and imbued the golden wall moldings of roses, vines, and animals and paintings of golden-winged, ruddy-cheeked angels with skin and hair in every imaginable hue. It was a power that had caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end and had made her feel even tinier than she was.

_"Can you feel it, Serenity?" Her mother's eyes had twinkled. "This room protects great power."_

_"Great power?" She had repeated the words in hushed tones, as if the room itself could hear her questioning its majesty. _

_"Yes, my love. The power of the Silver Millennium Crystal." The monarch smiled, lifting her hand and pointing to a far-off point. "Look there, in the arms of my mother's image, Queen Selene… Can you see it?" _

_Princess Serenity had peered into the back of the room, and there was indeed a statue about her mother's height of a beautiful woman with long, cascading hair. "She looks pretty like you, Mama." And indeed, the young princess was reminded of times when her mother took her silver-white hair down from its buns, buns that she styled her own pale gold-blonde locks into. This image captured Queen Selene with her chin raised and eyes closed serenely. A dress of the finest gold silk hung off the figure, its fabric and hem embroidered with feathers and what she had learned were the phases of the moon seen from the mysterious planet Earth. And resting on a small red cushion held up by her hands was what appeared to be the largest and strangest-shaped diamond she had ever seen._

_Serenity's eyes, brimming with awe and curiosity, fixated on the crystal. And as if drawn like a moth to a flame, her tiny feet began to step forward outside of their own accord. _

_Her mother's hand stopped her. Her mother's arms scooped her up to keep her close. _

_"Listen to me, my love," her mother had whispered, as if telling a secret in a room full of guests. Their foreheads had pressed together, their crescent-mooned birthmarks kissing. "The Silver Millennium Kingdom is your birthright; and the crystal is your responsibility. One day, when you are older, my responsibilities will fall on your shoulders. My power will wane, and yours will grow, and the crystal will be under your protection. It and this room will grant you great power, and it will be up to you to keep it safe for those who will try and take it for their own selfish needs. But until that time when you are ready to assume its power, you must only come here if you are in great danger, never for anything else. _

_"Promise me."_

_She remembered pulling away and seeing the sharp glance in her mother's eyes made a solemn part of herself rise to the occasion. "I promise."_

She couldn't waste time.

She half-ran to the statue of her grandmother's effigy, and her bloodstained hands scooped up the crystal. It felt heavy and empty in her hands. She stared into the sculpted, tranquil face of her ancestor and wished that the statue were real. Back and forth, back and forth, wanting to know what to do and wishing that someone, anyone, would come and help her, comfort her…and wake her up from this nightmare. But there was no one.

Just her.

Only her. With her back up against the wall and the pillagers of her homeland desperate to reach her.

The emotions she had barely kept together spilled over inside her. Helplessness made her heart clench; panic made hot tears spring from her eyes and her body slump to the floor. She curled into a ball at the marble feet of her ancestor, pressing her head against the hem of her dress. "Please help me. Please help me. Help me, please."

Her heart pounded. She wished she knew what to do.

_"I am the Silver Millennium Crystal."_

The voice permeated and echoed in her head. Rich and deep, it carried a timbre that seemed to hold the secrets of time itself. Her hands opened and her eyes stopped their tears to stare at the crystal she cradled.

_"I am the Silver Millennium Crystal," _the voice repeated. _"Created by the gods, protected by their children of the Moon to guard against darkness and Evil."_

"Darkness?"

_"Darkness. There is...much darkness in this land… Is this the reason you call on me?" _

"Y-yes." Her hands clenched the crystal in her grasp once more. "Yes! I am Moon Princess Serenity. Heiress of the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Millennium's future ruler…I _am_ the ruler of the Moon Kingdom now…" Her hands held the crystal tighter. "I am…and I am the one that protects the Moon and is supposed to use your power! My mother was Queen Serenity…my grandmother was Queen Selene!

"Please! I am asking you to accept me… Please give me your power!"

_"And what is it that you wish of my power, child?"_

"What…do I wish for?"

_"I have the power to do all, and grant you the wishes of your heart…__What is it that you wish of me, child?"_

"I wish for—" She heard another sound, the sound of pounding at the doors. Her enemies had found the room...they had found her somehow…She remembered her mother's words on that day long ago, about the crystal being able to make her fondest wishes come true. "I wish to save everyone. Everyone in the Moon Kingdom…my people, my friends…Endymion…even myself! Everyone! This is my only wish now. It's my greatest wish now! Please—_grant my wish!_"

She opened her hands and stared at her only hope of salvation in her hands. Nothing. Her hands tightened around the crystal once more, and her body curled upon itself. Her eyes clenched closed. Her breathing was quick and raspy. She heard the continued pounding on the doors and a disharmonious entity of voices speaking their homogenous frustration at being kept out of this room, and their desperation to reach her.

"Please help me save everyone."

Nothing.

Nothing.

And then…

She felt a steady heat in her hands and a saw light peeking through her fingers. Her hands opened once more, and the glow filled the room, pressing against the walls, enveloping her in silvery light. The crystal lifted itself from her hands and hung suspended in the air. And then it opened itself, changing before her eyes into the shape of a blooming rose.

_"Moon Princess Serenity, Heiress of the Moon and Ruler of the Silver Millennium, your wish is great. And pure of heart. And worthy to be granted. But the power you possess for it to come true is a greater sacrifice than what you now possess. _

_"Are you still willing to make that sacrifice?"_

Her heart pounded. "…Yes! YES! If it means that everyone will be safe, if it means that I will be able to save everyone, then yes! Grant me my wish!"

_"…Very well…"_

The crystal shattered into a thousand fragments.

And one by one, almost too fast for her to realize, the pieces turned on her.

Her scream pierced the walls as shard after shard dug into her skin, branding her nerves with its white hotness. Fire centered in her chest, left her grasping for air; her hand grabbed the hem of her ancestor's statute and tears fell from her eyes. Her skin felt like it was peeling off, becoming part of the air itself.

And then suddenly, she realized that that was what was happening. She was becoming thin air. Already, some of her fingertips were missing.

Her body lifted from the floor.

The doors broke open, and she looked over to see them. Soldiers clad in black armor racing inside, and then stopping to stare at her glowing and disintegrating form above their heads. Some grabbed at her, desperate to grasp her foot, her ankle, but for all their effort, all they did was succeed in helping her fade more. A thought of fear raced through her mind, skittish, like a marble rolling across the floor.

_"Do not be afraid or worried, child. For millennia, the children of the Moon have protected me, but this time, it will be I who protects."_

She was watching the crowd of panicked soldiers parting, hailing the presence of another coming into the room. Her sight was blurring, fading, but she could see silver armor that adorned the figure. Male. Their commanding officer. Their words, their excitement, and pointed fingers no longer meant anything to her.

But then the mysterious silver-clad newcomer lifted his head in awe. His hands slowly removed his helmet.

And she saw the last person she had ever expected.

Her lips parted one last time. _"You?_"

And then she saw nothing because she was nothing.

Nothing but a pure, blinding light.

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><p><em>R&amp;R<em>


	2. II

**The Rebirth**

A hundred years after the near downfall of Moon Kingdom, the last of the royal family is reborn in a young teenage girl. AU

disclaimer: As cool as it would be, I don't own _Sailor Moon_. I barely own my Macbook.

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><p><span>Glossary<span>

Sabatier: a small crater that is located at the fringes of the Mare Marginis

Shinjuku Goyen National Garden: one of four national gardens in the Tokyo prefecture; a former estate, it is now a 143-acre park

khufu: a boat whose origins trace back to Pharaoh Khufu of Egypt's 4th dynasty

_(Source: Google/Wikipedia)_

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><p>II<p>

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><p>The morning tranquility of house No. 7, Sabatier Lane in Juuban, Neo-Tokyo was utterly destroyed by one word. A name, rather.<p>

"Serena…? …Serena?!... SERE~NA! Get out of bed right now!"

Sixteen-year-old Serena Tsukino jolted awake from her fitful sleep. Sweat dripped down her back and made her blue cat-shaped patterned pajamas cling to her skin. Her chest rose and fell in heavy pants. It was like she had just finished running to school in a panic, or the slight, yet also crippling fear she felt whenever she forgot something important—like her homework. But whatever it was, it was forgotten as her sleep-blurred eyes cleared and she realized someone else was in her room. "…Mom?"

"Serena." Her mother, donned in a purple dress and her favorite apron—white with patterns of red, yellow, and green apples with various numbers of bite marks—grimaced. Her lips were in a tight line and her brow furrowed, but her voice was calm as she opened with, "What time is it."

"Huh? …Time…" The bewildered teenager glanced around her messy room, cluttered with manga and clothes until finally landing on her clock. "It's ten o'clock."

Her mother's hands rested on her hips and her foot tapped on what may have been a pile of clean clothes left strewn on the floor. "What time did you say you were going to be awake and head over to the library to study?" She didn't wait for her daughter to answer, but pushed forward. "If you get the grade you got on your last Ancient Moon History test tomorrow, you'll fail your class! You'll be the oldest student in Year Two!"

Serena's brow knitted. "Mom, it won't be as bad as last time—"

"YOU GOT A FOURTY-FIVE LAST TIME!" Her mother's arms crossed. "I MEAN it, Serena! If you get another bad grade in that class, I will tell your father that you don't deserve to go to that event—"

"NO~!" The threat of missing out on the Coronation Announcement at the Moon Palace suddenly gave the young girl a new panic altogether. She sprung out of bed, a flurry of blankets and sheets and bow-shaped hair ties that had fallen out her gold-blonde pigtails in her wild sleep. The two buns that sat atop her head had even become disheveled, the right being loosened enough to lay at a weird angle on her head. "I've been wanting to go to this forever and I've been studying really hard! Please don't tell him! Please!" Her hands pressed together and she pressed her hands together in supplication. "I'll pass the test and get a good grade."

"Then I'll ask you one question." Her mother's finger pointed in the air, signifying the number. Suspense for the question hung in the air, and Serena looked at her mother's index finger with rapt but nervous attention.

"What are the three politically defining moments of The Silver Millennium Restoration?"

Serena blinked stupidly. Her hand scratched her scalp, inadvertently freeing her lop-sided bun even more. She cringed at the question itself, and what she knew was going to happen next: "Ummm…"

"That's _it_! Get ready and dressed to go to the library—NOW! And when you're done, you should come straight home and study some more! If I call the arcade or Naru and get the feeling that someone is lying to cover for you, you'll be in big trouble."

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><p>"It's too pretty to be inside," Serena groused, her Ancient Moon History textbook, notebook, and lunchtime bento in hand. She had escaped her mother's lecture and had started making her way toward Public Library No. 5 where she and other high school students would spend their Sunday getting ready for their finals tomorrow. But as always, her footsteps slowed as she reached the crest of the bridge connecting Juuban to downtown Neo-Tokyo. A warm breeze passed through the air and kicked up the hem of her light pink hot-air balloon-patterned dress. All around her were the sounds of gleeful laughter. The bridge's sidewalks were ever-present of food and souvenir vendors and tourists. Below her, in the channel, yachts and tourist ferries traveled over the azure water; an unseen tour guide, speaker in hand, was directing his group's attention to the north where the Moon Palace stood as a man-made island of its own.<p>

The teenage girl's footsteps strayed from their intended path and led to the bridge's rail. She laid her books down and pressed her hand on the concrete, relishing in the heat of the sun-warmed surface. From far away, that same tour guide was informing his audience of the stronghold that had existed even as far back as Moon Princess Serenity's youth and its eventual detachment from downtown for the sake of protecting the noblemen that resided behind its walls. His voice finally started to fade away as he gave his group more instructions.

Serena thought back to her impromptu awakening and her mother's question. "…It's not that I don't know the answer. I've been over it everyday… Who wouldn't know about the Moon Princess?"

But beyond that: Who on the Moon hadn't heard of her legacy, her wielding of the ancient power belonging to the royal family, and her saving and restoring of the Moon from Evil over 100 years ago? Or didn't feel a sort of chill when it was said that her body was never found? Princess Serenity's sacrifice for the Moon lingered everywhere: in the agelessness of the nobility, the fact that since the princess' resurrection of the Moon and the period of time now that everyone called "The Silver Millennium Restoration," the lords and ladies of the royal court bafflingly appeared to have never physically aged; in the creation of the Orbital-Satellite Alliance, the agreement that had the Moon dependent on Earth that angered so many people; and even Parliament which acted as rulers in place of the royals. Even now, all Serena had to do was turn her head towards downtown to stare at the princess' memorial in Neo-Shinjuku Goyen National Garden, the tall white obelisk that scraped the sky and was surrounded by a ring of her favorite flowers, white lilies.

Instead, she directed her glance at the Moon Palace itself. The pearl-hued castle gleamed in the afternoon sun, and its towers and roofs sparkled, though not as brightly as the golden waxing crescent moon perched on its highest spire. It was like a fairytale had been placed amongst them. The earth, in the middle of its constant rotation, hung in the sky like a jewel. Serena couldn't help but to stare at its majesty and feel the way she always did: that it and the Moon itself were patiently waiting for something to happen.

Maybe that was the reason why the Coronation Announcement was so important. One of the ageless noblemen would be assuming the title of the new ruler of the Moon. It was the biggest spectacle to happen on the Moon in decades, and had garnered the attention of the entire Solar System. The news wouldn't stop talking about what it meant for politics; and her elderly neighbors had once mentioned how it was the "end of an era." Her friends hadn't stopped talking about the ball that was taking place either, and how it being televised would make it the only time everyone not of royal blood would be able to see the inside of the palace. She thought about her own reaction to hearing about the ball and how she had gotten excited learning that her own father would be covering it for the national newspaper and had an extra ticket. She had begged her mother to give up the ticket so she could go instead, finally conceding to the condition of getting a good grade on her final. Serena had fought against zoning out in class; she had frequently taken routes that completely avoided the arcade so that she wouldn't be distracted from going to the library (she half-imagined Motoki and everyone else at Game Center Crown had forgotten what she looked like); and she had begged, if not pleaded, for her best friend Naru to let her borrow one of her fanciest dresses for the show after she had blown her money on some manga and then had lost the receipt to return them.

At one point, in his surprise over the severity of her dedication to go, her father had casually mentioned how it seemed like this was a perfect way of setting up bragging rights for the following year. And he was right in a way…but in another way, the fact that she would be able to be in the Moon Palace brought on a type of emotion that went beyond the desire of wanting to be seen…she couldn't explain it; she only knew that whatever she felt was something that was always there deep inside of her.

She kept her glance on the Moon Palace and felt like her feet were leaving the ground. A million different thoughts raced in her mind, around and around, and her stomach fluttered with an unspeakable number of emotions. Meanwhile, the Moon Palace and the bright orb of Earth gleamed on silently.

A sound or something from far off broke the trance and she blinked. She drew in a deep breath; she couldn't remember when she had started holding it.

She gathered her things and backed away from the rail with careful steps and continued walking towards the city. Yet even as the image of the Moon Palace receded, she kept its silhouette in the corner of her blue eye, as blue as the third planet itself.

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><p>Wonders of wonders, Serena had actually passed her test with a 70.<p>

And miracle of miracles, her parents had actually followed through on their promise to let her go to the ceremony. She was standing in the midst of the Moon Palace's grand ballroom, staring at the gathering of people all dressed in ball gowns and tuxedos and dancing and talking with the sounds of an orchestra all around them, and television camera crews recording them.

The arrival had been like a dream. They, she and her father, had been in the last of twenty boats heading to the palace. She had been a little disappointed that the boat she had been on wasn't a khufu like the ones she saw carrying dignitaries and other important people, with its sleek shape, open decks, and canopies with softly glowing lanterns, but one of the naval ships that flanked them. Her boat had been full of journalists like her dad and soldiers in white uniforms with gold braiding across the front, but that was okay. She had received a lot of compliments for her borrowed dress, the pastel blue one with a long skirt and train that wafted around her ankles gently whenever she walked or picked up the train.

And she had at least been able to see the crowds like she was royalty. The sides of the channel and the bridge that led into downtown were full of people from all over the universe, screaming and cheering and waving. There were even some signs being held, some that said things like, "Hooray for the Moon!" and others that bared the royal family's birthmark and declared "Forever loyal to Princess Serenity!" A few other people sang or yelled that they were from Mercury or as far as Neptune. From time to time, what looked like lit paper lanterns were lifted into the sky, like fireflies. It was beautiful.

But it was nothing like what was hidden behind the palace walls. A quick emptying of the boats and walk up a narrow stairway, and they were actually inside the grounds of the Moon Palace! It was like a city in and of itself; she could see things she had never imagined being here, like large houses that looked that palaces themselves with grand staircases that led to green lawns and perfect homes that had a flagpole baring the familiar moon insignia at its highest peak. Even the walkway bore a sort of perfection with its white cobblestones that cut through patches of perfectly tended lawns and open courtyards or gazebos with stone rotundas.

But even the grounds paled in comparison to the palace and the grand ballroom's beauty that led her to grip her father's arm tightly. _"This is the enfilade, Serena."_ He had said. _"This is where the queen would host her parties. I heard once the princess had danced across the ballroom's floor all night with a dignitary from far away."_ It was breathtaking: multiple floors and grand staircases lined with velvet carpets. Tall, arched windows that showed the rest of the grounds in all its glory: acres of open space and even an outdoor labyrinth in its corner. Its walls were painted with patterns of archers and animals and images of angels with outstretched arms. Her eyes curiously stared at their fingertips and how they seemed gathered around a circle in the ceiling where the full moon was painted. _"You can walk around and look around if you want, but please make sure to find me again when the ceremony itself begins."_ He dug out his pen and small notepad from the breast pocket of his tuxedo.

She did, circling around the ballroom over and over again, watching important people dancing and laughing and eating the little tiny cakes set up on one very long table covered with a white cloth. Several times she ached to touch the walls of the ballroom, especially the spaces where it looked like there were solid gold, but she was afraid of being reprimanded by the soldiers that stood on either side of each entrance, or being caught on camera and later being called the weirdo who kept touching the walls. At one point, she had wanted to walk upstairs and see all that could be seen from there, but she decided against it. Despite the clearance badge she had clipped to her dress, she doubted if she would be allowed. She noticed that while the people on the bottom level were dressed in a wide array of colors, the people upstairs were in full white. The teen guessed that those were the noblemen and their families. But for the few of the beautiful faces she had seen, she couldn't help but notice they all had a wise, knowing look to their eyes. And there were no children. It filled her with…she didn't really know what.

She was eating maybe her third plate of little sweets and finger sandwiches when the music began to quiet down. It wasn't hard to find her father again; he barely looked up at her before tilting his chin towards the stage. "They're getting ready," he murmured.

A man with long white hair dressed in a white tuxedo made his way to the stage. The huge television that sat affixed above gave a close up of his sour-apple green eyes, and a long chain bejeweled with tiny waxing-crescent moons and a matching chain was around his forehead, the shape framed by his bangs. "Hello. My name is Artemis, and I am of the Moon Kingdom's royal court. I have served the royal family in the years of Moon Queen Serenity's life, as have my ancestors before me served Moon Queen Selene. It is my honor and privilege to have been chosen among our elite's to welcome our guests and our people to the Moon Palace on this night." He closed his eyes and bowed, and all around him began a polite applause.

"In the hundred years since the royal family's…demise, we have been bestowed to live a lifetime. This great gift of life was given to us by our dear Moon Princess Serenity. Knowing her…I knew how full of life she was, and of her love for the Moon and all its living souls. It was her love for us that led her to save us when we needed it most, and her love of everyday that has blessed us to see every day." Again he stood silent to the applause that rose like a wave.

"However, we caretakers of the Moon have allowed this wonderful land and the Princess' gift to fall stagnant. As our people have grown and changed, we have not grown with them. We have isolated ourselves from you all. It is on this night, with the announcement of our future ruler and the eventual coronation, that we take the first steps towards reuniting ourselves with our people, and walking with them to the future they continue to pave.

"Our decision was not a hasty one. And among ourselves, we chose the one we felt was the most worthy for the responsibility the weight carried with the title of ruler. We chose someone closest to the royal family, but one that also held the reverence of Queen Serenity herself.

"My people of the Moon, I present to you your future king, Prince Diamond!" The man, Artemis', arm rose towards the back where the stairs stood.

The crowd's attention turned.

From the unseen crowd of the second floor and unto the stairwell came a man, tall and stately, dressed in a white suit with a black cape. His steps were precise and confident. He reached the bottom of the step, and the crowd before him parted. Applause rose. His trek towards the stage seemed to take a lifetime in and of itself. As he passed Serena, she smelled a whiff of his cologne, and even though he never looked at her, she saw through the fringe of his white hairs that his eyes were gray.

He reached the stage and stood next to Artemis, bending his head slightly to the latter's deep bow.

The crowd hushed.

"I thank you, my people. In due time, I hope to become a king that you need: a beacon and pillar of strength to all. I ask for your loyalty and your kindness as I assume the role that has been bestowed on me. I am humbled, and I am happy to serve you."

He bowed.

Applause rose again once more, louder this time.

Serena's heartbeat thudded in her chest.

_"No." _She heard the word in her head in a multitude of voices.

"No," she said in a voice that was hers and yet…wasn't at the same time.

Serena felt her body become hot. She felt the world spin; her heart sped up and it became hard to breathe. She felt her limbs go numb. The hand that held her cup fell limply to her side; belatedly she heard the cup drop to the floor. Belatedly she felt the splash of liquid, the horrified and angry gasps of others around her; her father's own worried voice. She ignored it. Her feet stepped forward and she pushed herself through the crowd.

_"This cannot be allowed to transpire."_

"I can't either," she repeated.

_"No!"_

"No!" she shouted. The crowd was distancing itself from her. There was a buzzing that filled her ears. She could feel panic all around her, and see soldiers coming for her, their gloved hands on the hilt of their swords. "I won't let this happen!"

_"…Your time has not yet come, child. But letting this occur would taint the kingdom with Evil." _

"I won't let it," she murmured to the voice. "I promise...I'm ready."

And then she saw absolutely nothing. Nothing but the picture of the full moon above her head.

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><p><em><strong>AN:**_ __It's hard deciding if I want to strongly follow __Sailor Moon Crystal__/the manga, or the 90s television show. My favorite version is really the manga; there's a maturity in Usagi that took so many episodes to see from the TV show, and that's what I'm hoping to portray. But the aim in this case was definitely a sort of immaturity. Regardless, I hope that Serena's personality shines through despite the short amount of dialogue.__

_I seriously became an architectural fanatic writing this. Most of the inspiration of the Moon Palace came from Ancient Athens' Argos and the Osborne House in the UK, to various cathedrals and the Washington Monument. Thank goodness for Google._

_...I also feel like there's a drinking game waiting to happen here. Take a sip every time you read the word "moon," "princess," and/or "white," and then tell me how you feel afterwards. LoL _

_R&R and add me to your Story Alerts. _


	3. III

**The Rebirth**

A hundred years after the near downfall of Moon Kingdom, the last of the royal family is reborn in a young teenage girl. AU

disclaimer: As cool as it would be, I don't own _Sailor Moon_. I barely own my Macbook.

* * *

><p>III<p>

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><p><em>His piqued curiosity about what had happened on the first floor, the eerie calm after yelling and panic, were suddenly overcome by something else within him. A change that suddenly overcame him. It was something powerful, a sensation of warmth and…light <em>_burning__ in his chest. It almost made him fall to his knees, as if he just suffered a terrible blow. His hand gripped the doorframe to remain steadfast and his blue eyes stared down at his chest; he truly expected to see a glow through his dress shirt._

_All around him, the other nobles and elite were gasping and pressing their palms over their hearts as well. Their eyes were wide as they stared at one another, surprised at what they were feeling and unsure of what to do. The swell of panic in their voices, the fear of not knowing what was happening to them, spurred him to move. And he did so, venturing where from he had chosen to stay visible yet ignored, and half-running through them and towards the balcony of the Mezzanine. He gripped the railing and looked out into the chaos he expected was in the crowd. _

_And it was then that he saw her. _

_Serenity._

_She was levitating high in the air, the train of her light-blue dress billowing about her. Head thrown back, hair golden and in those pigtails she loved to wear, skin kissed by the sun, and long and slender fingers… Completely unscarred and unchanged…the way he always remembered her. She was brightness; she was…color…_

_His heart thudded in a way it hadn't for over 100 years._

_His world came to a halt. _

_Maybe…maybe he was dead. After a decade, he was truly dead somehow and finally able to be with her. _

_He then thought he was dreaming again. Another dream of her behind his closed eyelids. _

_And then he realized it was neither death nor his imagination._

_It was __her__. Alive._

_There was not a sound as her feet touched the stage. From his faraway perch, he gaped as she turned to face the crowd and opened her eyes. The wide, blue eyes he had expected to see were instead orbs of pure light._

_"I am Moon Princess Serenity, heiress of the Silver Millennium and the namesake of Queen Serenity. I am sorry to have left you all, but have returned for you, and the glory of our kingdom."_

_She fainted. _

_The feeling in his chest abated._

_He watched as Prince Diamond scooped her up in his arms..._

The guard placed a fist over his heart and bowed his head slightly. "With all due respect, Your Highness, this meeting between of the elders is barred from…outside dignitaries. Only a select few have been allowed entry."

_Of course._ Prince Endymion had expected denied entry from where it was now known to all where the elders were talking amongst themselves, per usual. He knew that because it was a meeting of the Moon's elders and he was nowhere close to ever being on equal terms with them, he was expected to turn around and swallow his pride and anger. Suffer the stares from the row of guards that barred the perimeter from outsiders, and the scrutiny of the less-important and less-brazen of the Moon elite that idled at a distance and craned their necks in hopes of hearing something from the air warehouse-turned-"bomb shelter." He was expected to walk back to his quarters, in plain view of the ones that stood at the palace's windows and speculated about him, sweating through his dress shirt in the late morning sun all the while. _As if their opinions about you would have changed overnight. You forget: who are you to __them__ but an_ _outsider?_ He berated himself.

But for once, he drew in a deep breath, and refocused his approach. "In lieu of last night's occurrence and what it means between Earth-Moon relations, I seek the approval of…three attendees for entry." It was a pretty good excuse. Factual enough, reminiscent of days long gone. He could hope that the one he expected was inside and that fortune would look down on him long enough to give him two more to not mind his presence.

The guard blinked at him and then at the other guards in confusion; they had expected his retreat as well. He could see the guard turning over the words in his mind, and the moment he actually relented. "...I will voice your request. Please wait here." The guard opened the heavy wooden doors and slid through the gap, shouting the prince's words, and standing in silence. Endymion didn't crane his head to hear. He appeared as quickly as he had left. "Three attendees have allowed for your entry. You may enter, Your Highness."

He did so, feeling the cool air touch his skin and the scrape of concrete underfoot.

The "bomb shelter" had never actually been used as such in the decades following the attack on the Moon, but its momentarily conversion was interesting if not laughable: there was a long table set up in the center of the room covered in a white cloth and laden with bowls of fruit, bread and muffins, jars of honey and jams and jellies, and chilled glass pitchers of water and wine. The elders, a dozen in all, sat in chairs also covered in white cloths. Their clothing was different from the night before; the large lamps above exaggerated their age and pale skin of all Moon royalty; and while he felt himself feeling comforted from the generated cool air, a few of the women wore their thickest frocks.

None of them looked at him.

He spied Luna and Artemis' standing figures and smiled slightly, pleased that they had actually been allowed entry. Their all-white clothing from the night before was wrinkled, and judging from the bags underneath their eyes, neither of them had been able to sleep yet. They may have spent the night preparing for this meeting and more.

He then spied Diamond standing as well. Endymion's smile widened and he directed a bow towards his century-long friend.

The Moon prince's own smile and bow was brief in return. "…Now that Prince Endymion has entered, please continue, Luna."

Luna gave a deep curtsey and picked up a sheet of paper. "Yes, Your Highness. The topic is now of the young girl. …Upon your instruction, she was placed in one of the furthest guest suites in the sub-eastern wing. The suite is now under heavy guard, and the soldiers stationed there have been told to notify their superiors should anything change."

"And of her parents?" An elder named Aglecta, a severe-looking woman with a profile of a buzzard and a bunch of white feathers in her French twist asked.

"Madame, her father is in the same suite and we have sent for her mother—"

"That is not what I meant, Luna, and I'm surprised you would think I would ask a question with such an obvious answer! There was a significant time gap between the ball, the removal of the girl and her father, and the call for this meeting. What do we now know of _her_, the girl?!"

Endymion's felt his long-standing ire for the woman thicken in his mouth.

Luna swallowed slowly before continuing. "My apologizes... All we know now is what her father told us during his questioning..." She spoke slowly. "Her name is Serena Tsukino. She is sixteen, and a student at the high school located in the third suburban outside of Neo-Tokyo, Juuban. She is Moon-born…and she has never done anything like this before…"

Artemis stood and bowed to address the group. His hand brushed his wife's arm in comfort. "We have contacted the officials at the Office of Public Records to trace the genealogy of her parents. Perhaps there is a previously unknown bloodline somewhere."

This seemed to please most of the elders. But just as quickly as they fell to silence, another, a man with a thick brown moustache streaked with gray, spoke up: "…To think Serenity's spirit has always been here on the Moon. And we failed in finding her."

"Oh please, spare us the feeling of guilt!" Aglecta snapped. We gave up searching for the princess generations ago… There was no trace of her body or power to be found! We _knew_ that!"

Her words brought on chaos:

"No one is disputing what we have known for the greater part of this era! Calm down!"…"And _how_ would we had been able to find her? We have no power of our own. The Moon's power has always derived from the royal family!"…"Surely she is of royal blood somewhere! Do we not know _more_?!"…"Her name must be of _some_ indication…but 'Tsukino' is not a familiar last name to _me_…what is it?"

"We all know we could not find her," Aglecta slammed her hand down on the table effectively silencing them all with a sharp eye. "But the fact that she did not appear until last night proves that she was hiding! She was willing to let us fall into disarray!"

Prince Endymion felt a sweep of anger and stepped further into the space. "That's not true!"

The room fell into quick silence. A few of the elders turned to face him with glares he suddenly imagined were akin to actual daggers. He was again the outside, the literal speck of black in the room. Luna's face turned red out of embarrassment for him, but he continued. "She loved the Moon and its people; she sacrificed herself for us all. For what reason would she choose to hide from us?"

Suddenly, he heard his words and the gaffe he had made. _You included yourself with them—again._ "…F-from _you_?"

Too late.

"…We have all forgotten ourselves in the heat of this revelation. And because of that, we have spoken too freely about matters that should always be treated with the utmost confidentiality…" someone said; Endymion didn't look over to see which one. "I move for this meeting to be adjourned."

"I second the motion."

"Same."

Prince Diamond bowed, realizing what a lost cause this meeting had become. "Then I bid you all farewell. …Guards, please open the entryway!"

And like that, the large doors opened wide enough to let the elders of the Moon exit the shelter. Many spared no more than a glance at the earth-born prince. His face burned even as Luna came to him and touched his arm, a smile on her face and light shining in her eyes. He may have mumbled something, something appreciative of her wanting to comfort him…or maybe kind and honest in response of her gratitude for defending her. But even she and Artemis left until it was only he and Diamond.

Prince Diamond sighed, breaking his calm mein. "Thank the gods! We've been here for hours." He flopped into his chair and threw his head back. "…I had a hunch you would learn of our meeting, but I didn't expect for you to demand entry _or_ speak out of turn." He motioned for the earth-born royal to venture further, to sit down. "You were brash, my friend."

Endymion sunk in his chair, refusing an offer for a drink of his own. He did not care about another reprimand or offer an apology. "…For what reason would she hide herself?" He asked again.

The moon-born prince began to search for a clean cup and when finding one, began to pour himself some wine. He took a long draught. "I agree with you… Serenity would not hide herself from us of her own will…"

"So…what then? What am I not understanding."

He took a sip of his wine. "I have always believed that was the work of the Silver Millennium Crystal, Endymion. That Serenity's disappearance was wholly dependent on the crystal. Last night just proves it." He took a longer draught.

_The Silver Millennium Crystal._ Words Endymion hadn't heard those words pieced together in so long. The ancient power that was whispered about during his youth on Earth…the ancient power that had piqued his curiosity to bring him to the Moon and given him life once more… "…So now that last night happened, what does this mean?"

"…It can mean so many things—even they," he made a sweeping gesture over the once-occupied chairs, "aren't entirely sure. We don't know if this means we are truly free from danger…or even if the reincarnation of her senshi have somehow occurred without our knowing elsewhere." Diamond suddenly smiled, "But however it transpired, our princess is back now. The Moon can be even stronger as it once was before."

Endymion sat silently for a few moments, thinking of the night before. Thinking of the girl and the way the sight of her made his heart beat inside of his chest. He knew how he had felt hours ago, that feeling of…hope; but now in the light of day, his expression hardened. "That girl is not Serenity, Diamond."

Diamond's response was cut off with a shuffle of movement. Endymion looked over to see the same guardsman who had barred his entry standing in the doorway. "I apologize for not announcing myself, Your Highness, Prince Endymion."

Diamond waived off the apology. "What is it?"

"We just received word from the palace. The girl has awakened."

* * *

><p>She still felt like herself, which was…kind of a weird thought.<p>

She had no idea when she had fallen asleep, let alone when she had been placed in this strange, yet grand bedroom with pale yellow and gold-trim and a grander bed with matching silk sheets and canopy and solid gold bed frame. Her mouth felt dry; her stomach growled. She knew everything she was supposed to know about herself: how things sounded to her, how the food she liked tasted, and the manga she liked reading.

Things that she knew, but still…weird thoughts.

She stepped off the bed and then off its raised platform. No problem. She made sure to avoid the leg of a small table beside the window. She glanced out the window, and a thought occurred to her: this view outside the palace was her least favorite; her own bedroom was the best view because it faced the front. She found where the bathroom door was; she opened it up with no problem and found the light, smiling as her finger deftly flipped the switch on.

And there she was in the bathroom. Serena Tsukino: same hairstyle, same perfect dress, same faint traces of the pink lipstick she had used.

But smack-dab in the middle of her forehead, between her bangs, was a crescent moon-shaped mark upturned in a "U."

She blinked. Her face neared the mirror more.

Her finger pressed against it, feeling the slightly raised skin. She rubbed it like it was a smudge.

Nothing. It didn't go away. If anything, the skin turned a bit red.

She drew back suddenly. Mortified or maybe confused at the sight of it. "Oh…oh…_oh_…"

She bolted from the bathroom, and this time in her clumsiness, her ankle caught the desk. She toppled down and picked herself again. It wasn't hard to find where the bedroom door was, but still the teen wrestled with the door handle. Her hand slammed against the wood, "Someone, please! Let me out!"

The door on the other side rattled, and then gave.

And on the other side were people it took her a moment to recognize: "Dad? …Mom?"

Her mother, dressed in her best outfit, a dark-blue dress with a pattern of red roses, wrapped her arms around her. "Oh, Serena…Serena…"

_"Serena"…that's my name. My actual name...right? Right. _"What's going on?" She stared at the space, a kind of lobby arrangement with stuff that probably cost more than her house. "…Where are we...?"

Her mother relented in her hug and pulled back. There were tears in her eyes. Her face looked puffy; she had been crying for a long time.

Her father's hair was disheveled and his tuxedo jacket was discarded. There were sweat patches in his dress shirt. He stared at her forehead with red-rimmed eyes and then he stared at her like she wasn't who she was. Like he was in awe of her. "…Do you feel any different, Serena?"

She stared into the faces of her parents at a complete loss of words.

_Do I feel different?_

"…No…" And yet…

"Do you…remember what you did?"

Panic rose within her. "…No!"…And yet… "What did I do?!"

Her parents exchanged a look between them. "Honey," her mother whispered, "I saw you on the television. You, you floated in the air! And your eyes!" Her mother's eyebrows rose and her fingertips flexed to the ceiling. "And the things you said…"

And then it all came rushing back: the announcement; her reaction in the middle of all those people...rising from the ground.

Her promise to the voice in her head.

She gasped.

"They're saying…they're telling us that _you_ are…the princess. The princess of the kingdom."

Her eyes widened. "What?! That's…that's…"

Cuckoo bananas. And yet..._Of course I am. Who else would I be?_

The doors of the suite opened and in came two guards telling her mother to let her go. And in walked the man from last night. The future ruler, Prince Diamond. And behind the prince were much older men and women she had never seen before. The elders of the kingdom, her mother's advisors. They filed into the room, standing in a row.

Her parents bowed deeply in their presence. She wanted to do the same, but didn't.

She wasn't _supposed_ to…

He fell to his knees. "I, for myself and on the behalf of our elders, the keepers of the Moon Kingdom in your absence, bow in respect to you. We have long awaited your return."

Her arm extended and he clasped her hand.

And in a voice that sounded like hers and yet wasn't, she replied. "I was away for much too long."

"One hundred years…"

Her brow furrowed. That was so long. "…Things have changed."

"Yes. But as I did when your mother was alive, I promise my allegiance to you. And I promise to act as your guide as you assume your role as ruler of us all. Your Royal Highness, Moon Princess Serenity." He lifted his head to stare at her with those silvery eyes of his.

Serena's eyes widened. She blinked and shook her head slightly, as if shaking away a haze in her head. She wanted to say that this was crazy-nuts. That a mistake had been made because she couldn't be who they all were saying she was. But: "Yes. Thank you." She looked up at the faces of her parents and the elders of the Moon, safe and sound as she wished for them to be. She smiled. "I thank you all for your loyalty. Please guide me well as I prepare to lead my people."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**__ Endymion's debut. So while his part introduced other characters and some AU people I've created, it's missing one thing: the senshi! Where are they? Um, well: not here. I feel like it would be hard to put the senshi in and have their personalities shape to fit the plot. It would just be a lot of people to juggle, so they're not going to be here. AU_

_I've always imagined Princess Serenity's conscious(?) awaking inside Serena and how difficult that would be. There's something interesting in the idea of Serena/Usagi's early immaturity "battling" with Serenity's royal upbringing and slightly more mature personality. So I'm going to play with that idea._

_Thanks for reading so far. Please give me reviews and add me to your Alerts!_


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